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Defense attorney: Alabama mall shooting suspect not guilty

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An attorney is challenging the charge against a man jailed in a Thanksgiving day shooting that took place just before police killed another man at an Alabama mall.

Defense lawyer Charles Salvagio said Erron Martez Dequan Brown, 20, is not guilty of shooting and wounding 18-year-old Brian Xavier Wilson of Birmingham, but he declined to elaborate. The lawyer said Tuesday he may hold a news conference soon about the case.

Brown was arrested last week near Atlanta and is jailed in Birmingham. A judge informed Brown of the charge against him during an initial court appearance Tuesday, WBMA-TV reported.

Self-defense could become a factor in the case since authorities have said some sort of altercation was involved in the gunfire.
Brown is charged in a shooting that apparently happened during that scuffle. Moments after that disturbance, police shot and killed Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr., 21. Police initially identified Bradford as the suspect in the initial shooting, but later backtracked and arrested Brown.

Protests have been held almost daily since Bradford was killed, with demonstrators and Bradford’s family pushing authorities to file charges against the unnamed officer who shot him.

A forensic examination commissioned by Bradford’s family showed he was shot three times in the back side of his body. One shot hit the back of the head, another struck the back of his neck and the third went into his lower back, the report said.
A family attorney said any of the shots could have been fatal, but the report didn’t indicate the order of the shots or who fired each of the bullets.

A 12-year-old girl also was wounded, but police have not charged anyone in her shooting.